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Julian Popov
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The Minister of Environment and Water, Julian Popov, announced that for him 2024 would be the year of waste and insisted that by the end of the year “we must radically change the waste collection system”. Popov’s request was made during the regular Friday parliamentary control, while answering a question from “Vazrazhdane” MP Dimcho Dimchev about illegal landfills in Kyustendil.
According to the ecominister, however, this request would not be easy to implement, because what is now being discussed and which must be quickly introduced, will be “very difficult to control, because there are risks of creating even bigger illegal dumps, because when the waste taxation system is changed, if it is not controlled well, then we will get into a rather complicated case”, without understanding what that complicated case is.
“In this sense, we communicate very well with the regional ministry, I work very well with the regional ministry, with other ministries, the finance ministry is very important in this case from the point of view of the tax rates related to household waste. We are also developing the deposit system that I I have made a commitment to speed it up seriously,” commented Yulian Popov.
The Ecominister will work for an even greater increase in the penalties for polluters
He noted that he hopes, if not clear and obvious results in the next month or two, at least to be able to give a clear idea of how things will move forward. “The problem will be very serious and I hope for the support and very sharp control activity of our regional eco-inspections, as well as all other institutions”, added the eco-minister.
In relation to Dimchev’s question about the illegal landfills in Kyustendil and what his department will do to solve the problem, including the heavily polluted Banshtitsa river, Popov pointed out that the organization and management of household waste is carried out by the mayor, who is also responsible for preventing the disposal of waste in unauthorized places and/or the creation of illegal landfills and the organization of their cleaning. The control is carried out by the regional environmental and water inspectorates (RIOSV), which are under the umbrella of the eco-ministry.
According to Yulian Popov, RIOSV – Sofia has carried out 49 planned and extraordinary inspections in various settlements on the territory of the Kyustendil municipality in the last five years. From 2019 until now, a total of 30 acts of violations have been issued to the mayor of Kyustendil municipality. There are 25 criminal decrees with a total value of BGN 213,000, of which 21 with a value of BGN 96,500 have entered into force.
Dimchev replied that ministries and institutions “pass the ball, kick the ball and shift the blame to others”. Popov assured him that the Eco-Ministry did not transfer the blame, but “we establish and sanction”.
“You are right that it is very important to have communication between the ministries, we have such communication, but here the issue mainly concerns the municipality and also the national policy and systems for waste management,” noted Julian Popov.
Regarding the pollution of the Banštitsa River, he repeated his request that the ministry he leads starts a national campaign for the greening of urban rivers. “I hope that this will also have some positive impact, but the actions of the ministry are primarily control and sanctioning, and the responsibilities are the responsibility of the local government,” the eco-minister pointed out once again.
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